Franklin Graham: God 'Created and Defined Marriage'

The Rev. Franklin Graham says his views on the Supreme Court's opinions with respect to same-sex marriage are irrelevant, because it is "God who created and defined marriage."

"Any person or institution that attempts to redefine it is ultimately challenging him," Graham, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association founded by his father, the Rev. Billy Graham, told The News & Observer.

The Grahams endorsed and financed last year's North Carolina marriage amendment campaign.

According to legal experts, however, the court's rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 could lay the groundwork to challenge the North Carolina Amendment, passed by voters in 2012 with more than 60 percent of the vote.

Graham said in a statement that while he disagrees with the Supreme Court's decisions when it comes to "issues involving God's laws it doesn't ultimately matter what I or anyone else thinks about a court's rulings."

He said that people must strive to love each other as God loves them, even when they have differences about the definition of marriage — and that all people are entitled to respect and are within the reach of God's love.

Graham added that he does not believe "any of us is entitled to rearrange God's divine order for the universe and its inhabitants."